Breidert

This is an appeal from a judgment in favor of respondents (defendants below) Southern Pacific Company, a corporation (hereinafter sometimes referred to as Southern Pacific or Railroad) and the City of Los Angeles, a municipal corporation (hereinafter sometimes referred to as City) and against appellants (plaintiffs below) George M. Breidert, as executor of the estate of George C. Breidert, deceased, Margaret P. Breidert and the G. C. Breidert Co., a corporation (hereinafter sometime referred to as Breiderts). The action in the trial court was for inverse condemnation arising out of the closing of a railroad grade crossing.

This is the second appeal in this litigation. The trial court in the first trial of the matter sustained defendants’ demurrer to the plaintiffs’ first amended complaint without leave to amend. A judgment of dismissal was entered in favor of both defendants and said judgment was reversed by the Supreme Court of California in Breidert v. Southern Pac. Co., 61 Cal.2d 659 [ 39 Cal.Rptr. 903 , 394 P.2d 719 ].

The first pretrial conference order directed that a bifurcated trial be held in which the basic legal issues were to be tried by a court sitting without a…